Cairo: Egypt's top military council has given the army chief, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a green light to seek election as president, a vote he is almost certain to win.

Field Marshal Sisi deposed elected president Mohamed Mursi in July after mass unrest over the Muslim Brotherhood leader's increasingly arbitrary and erratic rule, sparking political chaos and security crackdowns on dissent in the Arab world's most populous nation.

The military strongman has since taken on almost cult-like popularity in Egypt, with many seeing him as a decisive figure able to stabilise a country that has lurched from one economically ruinous crisis to another since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak.

"[The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] is looking forward with respect and reverence to the desire of the huge masses of the great Egyptian people in the nomination of ... Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the presidency of the republic, which it considers a mandate and an obligation," the military high command said.

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"The top army officials all OKed Sisi running for the presidency," said a security source. The 59-year-old career officer is expected to announce his candidacy within days.

Hours before top generals approved Field Marshal Sisi contesting the election, the presidency announced he had been promoted to field marshal from general, in what security officials said was a sign he is about to declare his candidacy for the presidency.

An Egyptian woman dances in front of a polling station holding a poster of Field Marshal Sisi. Photo: AP

"The decision was expected and it is the first step before the resignation of the general and his candidacy announcement, which is now expected very soon," a security official said.

In order for Field Marshal Sisi to contest the election, he has to resign from his post as defence minister and from the military.

But despite his popularity, the military chief has no pedigree as a democrat and has shown himself willing to apply deadly force against those who disagree with him.

The Muslim Brotherhood accuses him of staging a coup by effectively putting Egyptian government back under the domination of the military as it was before Mr Mubarak's exit, and aborting its professed transition to democracy.

The Brotherhood holds Field Marshal Sisi responsible for what it says are widespread human rights abuses in a security crackdown that has killed nearly 1000 Islamists. Top Brotherhood leaders including Dr Mursi are all in jail and facing trial.

But, in addition to many people in the street, Field Marshal Sisi enjoys the backing of the army, Egypt's most powerful institution, as well as the Interior Ministry, many liberal politicians and Mubarak-era officials and businessmen who have made a comeback since the political demise of Dr Mursi.

Judging by his appeal, those forces are likely to give him plenty of time to prove himself as president, and there are no other politicians who could challenge him anytime soon.

Mr Bahaa El-Din, a lawyer, had called for a more inclusive political process in a nation that, crippled by prolonged violent unrest that has shattered the economy, appears to be growing less tolerant of dissent by the day.

"A crucial stage of the roadmap is now over. It required keeping a unified front and avoiding disputes in order for the nation to emerge from constitutional and economic collapse," said a letter posted on Mr Bahaa El-Din's Facebook page. "Now that we start a new phase where the country is preparing for successive elections ... I ask that you accept my resignation."

Mr Bahaa El-Din is in charge of an economic team that includes the ministers of finance, trade and industry, supply, planning and investment, as well as the governor of the central bank.